The Tarnished Angels (1957)

Story of a friendship between an eccentric journalist and a daredevil barnstorming pilot.

Director:

Douglas Sirk

Writers:

William Faulkner (novel), George Zuckerman (screenplay)

Stars:

Rock Hudson, Robert Stack, Dorothy Malone

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rock Hudson	...	Burke Devlin
Robert Stack	...	Roger Shumann
Dorothy Malone	...	LaVerne Shumann
Jack Carson	...	Jiggs
Robert Middleton	...	Matt Ord
Alan Reed	...	Colonel Fineman
Alexander Lockwood	...	Sam Hagood
Christopher Olsen	...	Jack Shumann (as Chris Olsen)
Robert J. Wilke	...	Hank
Troy Donahue	...	Frank Burnham
William Schallert	...	Ted Baker
Betty Utey	...	Dancing Girl
Phil Harvey	...	Telegraph Editor
Steve Drexel	...	Young Man
Eugene Borden	...	Claude Mollet

Storyline

In the 1930's, a First World War flying ace named Roger Schumann is reduced to making appearances on the crash-and-burn circuit of stunt aerobatics. His family are forced to live like dogs while Shumann pursues his only true love, the airplane. When Burke Devlin, a reporter, shows up on the scene to do a "whatever happened to" story on Shumann, he is repulsed by the war hero's diminished circumstances and, conversely, drawn to his stunning wife, LaVerne.

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Plot Keywords:

1930s | new orleans louisiana | airplane race | based on novel | pilot | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 December 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pylon

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,788

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the location shooting in San Diego of this film, Robert Stack's wife was about to have their first child. While filming the tense scene where Stack propositions his own wife (played by Dorothy Malone), suddenly a plane flew right by the cameras with letters tailing four feet tall proclaiming IT'S A GIRL! Rock Hudson had arranged to have the hospital call immediately when the news came and hired a stunt pilot to tow the message behind the plane. Stack was deeply moved by Hudson's generosity, saying in his autobiography, "It's a moment I've never forgotten. Anybody who tells me that Rock Hudson isn't a first-class gent had better put up his dukes."

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Goofs

When Laverne does her parachute jump, she is seen in close shots hanging by her arms from a trapeze-style bar. However in the longer shots, she is seen to be in a normal parachute harness as she lands.

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Quotes

Ted Baker: On the level, what'd you do last night?
Burke Devlin: Nothing much:just sat up half the night discussing literature and life with a beautiful, half naked blonde.
Ted Baker: You better change bootleggers.

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Connections

Featured in Acting for Douglas Sirk: 'Written on the Wind' and 'The Tarnished Angels' Remembered (2008)

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Soundtracks

Old Folks at Home
(uncredited)
Written by Stephen Foster

User Reviews

Wonderful Sirk Melodrama!

Terrific Douglas Sirk melodrama from the William Faulkner novel "Pylon." I have not read the Faulker book, but I'm guessing it was nowhere as soapy as the film, but as soapy melodrama's go, no one does them better than Douglas Sirk. Robert Stack plays a boozy disillusioned WWI flying ace who now spends his days as a barnstorming pilot at rural carnivals with his neglected parachutist wife, Dorothy Malone, who he only married as a result of a literal roll of the dice. Rock Hudson plays a reporter doing a story on this dysfunctional traveling family of flyers that also includes Jack Carson, Troy Donahue, and William Schallert. Sirk's perchance for over- the-top drama is probably not going to look great to modern viewers, but for fans of classic Hollywood and fans of Sirk in particular, this film is a must see!